Fixture

RGC left St Helens with another away win and a far better feeling than the last time they played Swansea.

Josh Leach was one of those who experienced the last kick drop goal defeat in April so this 39 -22 victory was one to enjoy.

“During the warm up Mark challenged the team to start the game well which in fairness the starting 15 did, putting a lot of pressure on Swansea in the early minutes with some solid carrying up front and from the midfield.  This led to the first score from Carwyn Ap Myrddin.

“With the ball in hand we looked dangerous, creating a lot of chances for our outside backs who dominated the wider channels and made a number of line breaks running the ball back from deep.”

“Our problems came when we couldn't control our restarts, and repeatedly we would score and then immediately put ourselves under pressure with a spillage or a penalty. That was very much the story of the game.”

“For the third time away at Swansea we went in at half time with a strong lead, but contrary to previous games here at St. Helens we kept our attacking mindset in the second half and that was the difference in getting the win this time.”

The Gogs started brightly when Carwyn Ap Myrddin got on the end of a crossfield to touchdown, with Jacob Botica getting the conversion.

Swansea looked to answer back and tested the defence of RGC.  They did pick up the try after another crossfield kick for Richard Williams to score before Julian Mogg hit the extras.

RGC had to shuffle the pack when Shaun O’Rourke came off and youngster Robin Williams came on for his debut.

The visitors breached the All Whites defence with Rhys Williams going over in the corner.

Similar to the past few games RGC were put on the backfoot again from taking the lead, with Swansea testing the defence on a number of occasions.

Tom Hughes continued his impressive season with his sides 3^rd try when he powered over with Botica adding the conversion to make it 7 – 19.

That lead was extended with a Botica penalty.

The homeside built more pressure with the phases as they looked to puncture the RGC defence, with a number of line-outs and mauls.

Just before halftime Martin Buckwell got the try and Swansea headed to the dressing room knowing what they needed to do in the 2^nd half.

In the past 2 fixtures between these sides at St Helens the All Whites have turned the game around to pick up the win, so it was no surprise the were fired up in the opening minutes but once again the RGC defence stood up to everything that came at them.

It looked like the bonus point try arrived after break by Tiaan Loots early in the half, with some neat passing from the RGC backs but play was pulled back by the referee for a forward pass.

A minute later they 4^th try did come after he ran through the home defence to cross under the posts. Botica’s simple conversion made it 12-29.

With thoughts of Aprils game Swansea came back again when Moggs scored a try, which he also converted himself on the 50^th minute.

They edged even closer when a Moggs penalty sailed over the posts.

The Gogs lead was reduced and so was the player numbers when Joe Simpson was given a yellow.

Swansea cranked up the pace of the game as they knew another score would be crucial in the play of the game, but it was RGC that got the points.  The boot of Jacob Botica pushed RGC to a lead of 22-32.

RGC’s fitness was becoming important as the worked hard with and without the ball, and it made the difference.

Centre Tiaan Loots was having a good day and he it became even better with another try 10 minutes to go. The conversion by Jacob Botica made it 22-39 and the homeside struggled to regain any spark to get back into the match.

RGC ended the first block of 6 Principality Premiership Games with win number 5 and their first Bonus Point win. Unbeaten on the road they head back to Eirias to take on Bargoed on 29^th October.